Overheated soap or marks due to clay

[kellyjeanne]

First time using French green clay and noticed these marks when I cut the loaf today. Not sure if they are air bubbles somehow? Or if it could be a side effect of the clay. Recipe was 27% coconut oil, 3% castor, 10% canola and 60% olive. 3lb silicone loaf and I did force gel. I may have left it in front of the heat for a little longer than planned .

 

[lsg]

It looks like air bubbles to me. Could be clumps of clay. Did you mix the clay with a little oil or water before adding.

 

[Susie]

Do you use a silicone mold? I get those air bubbles every time I CPOP in silicone.

 

[kellyjeanne]

Yep I use a 3lb silicone loaf mold. I've never had this happen before but I accidentally left it in front of the heat for 2 hours opposed to 1. I was hoping it wouldn't make a difference. I guess I was wrong!

 

[lenarenee]

What kind of clay did you use? Did you soak it in water before adding? Can you rub off the spot? They look very solid which makes me think they're clay.

 

[Kamahido]

I get those whenever I forget to "burp" the stick blender.

 

[Susie]

Just to double verify, those are dents, not bumps, right?

 

[lenarenee]

Just to double verify, those are dents, not bumps, right?

I see both - dents and tiny spots that look solid.

 

[kellyjeanne]

I dispersed the clay in oil before adding. When I scraped part of a spot off it left a little hole so I'm assuming bubble. But there are a ton of them. Only on the inside of the bar though.

 

[lenarenee]

I dispersed the clay in oil before adding. When I scraped part of a spot off it left a little hole so I'm assuming bubble. But there are a ton of them. Only on the inside of the bar though.

I don't know - I've had air bubbles that show up because I use a wire cheese cutter, but they've never been something I could remove.

It's possible you have both things going on.

 

[snappyllama]

I've had a couple of soaps come out with really similar looking markings. My best guess for what caused it was a combination of:

1. Teeny tiny bubbles in my batter
2. Gelling
3. Cutting with a wire cutter

I had a SB issue which was pumping teeny bubbles (they looked like champagne bubbles in my oils). On any soaps I gelled + cut with my bud cutter, I could really see/feel the bubbles. If i didn't gell, the bubbles were still there but much less noticeable. If I cut with a knife, I guess the slicing action helped fill in the holes so they weren't as noticeable either.

My batches didn't have any clay in them.

 

[DeeAnna]

I see a similar texture when I use my wire cutter. If I cut bars with a knife or use my planer after wire cutting, the soap remains smooth. I have thought the "freckles" on my soap are small lumps of slightly harder soap that the wire floats over as it passes through the soap, but I haven't really looked into it much.